How much light is low light?

[JodiMartin2003]

I have been looking into getting some low light plants for my 55g. I would be planting them in the gravel and/or be attaching them to the ships or driftwood in the tank. The only lighting I have is what came with the tank. Would this be enough light for low light plants? Or do I HAVE to buy a stronger lighting source?

 

[nitrous]

how many watts is it ? also what kinds of bulbs ... T8? T12? T5? and correct me if im wrong but i believe that 1 wpg is low 2 is medium and 3 is high

 

[JodiMartin2003]

The tank was given to me awhile ago by my parents, so I honestly have no idea of the size or wattage of the bulbs....How do I find out? Does it say on the bulbs? All I know is that there are 2 bulbs, one for each hood(I believe there is only one bulb each anyway). Obviously I need to do more research before jumping into the plant pool LOL.

 

[Purrbox]

Sounds like NO Flourescent Lighting. Most bulbs will state the wattage on them. If not you can measure then length and diameter of the bulbs to find out, since all NO Flourescents of the same size have the same wattage.

 

[JodiMartin2003]

Lets just say for the sake of this discussion that the lights are NO Flourescents(which they probably are) Then, would I be able to have any plants thrive in this tank as is? If so, which ones?

 

[Purrbox]

If that's the case then you are looking at two 20 Watt bulbs for a total of 40 Watts. This puts your tank at very low light. You will probably be able to grow most low light plants, but they will be surviving rather than thriving. Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, and Crypts will all have a chance. Definately don't try any plants that need more than low light.

 

[malkore]

purrbox summed it up well. for NO bulbs, every 12" is 10watts, and two 24" NO fixtures are the norm for 55gallon setups.

the anubias bartari v. nana, and every java fern species should survive and grow slowly. most crypt species are ok with low light...at least the commonly found crypt species.

with java moss, you may need to position it high in the tank, or just let it float, to ensure it gets enough light.

You shouldn't need to fertilize, add CO2, or Excel. just a regular water change should be all that's needed to replenish trace nutrients.

 

[JodiMartin2003]

Ok, so I checked the bulbs last night and they are only 15w bulbs. So 30w for the whole tank. I realize this is probably not enough to have any good plants do well for long. So here is the next question....can I buy good bulbs for the setup I already have, or am I going to have to purchase a whole new lighting system?

 

[Purrbox]

Different bulbs will only change how the tank looks depending on the Kelvin rating. You either need to get more power out of your current fixture by using ODNO or simply retrofit/replace the fixture.

ODNO is the least expensive solution, but will require some rewiring. A quick search for ODNO should bring up lots of information on what you would need to do. I believe that the most you could achieve with ODNO is double your current lighting. This would put you solidly in Low Light.

If you decide to retrofit or replace the fixture your options are open as to how much light you want to put over the tank.